


The Long Way Around

by ArchangelUnmei



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, M/M, Makkachin talks you guys, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Will be added as they appear - Freeform, more to be added - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-09-21 17:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9559784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchangelUnmei/pseuds/ArchangelUnmei
Summary: Yuuri Katsuki doesn't remember anything except his name. His memories have been taken and scattered, and now he's on a journey across worlds with two complete strangers and a talking dog to recover them. Of course, his companions - temperamental sorcerer Yuri Plisetsky and careless prince Viktor Nikiforov - each have their own reasons for joining his quest, but maybe along the way they'll all find what they're looking for.(Or, the Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle fusion that nobody asked for.)





	1. Prologue - Witch of Worlds

**Author's Note:**

> This all happened because Nick made a few off-hand jokes about a YOI/TRC AU and I made the mistake of thinking about it seriously for more than three seconds. OTL Don't assume you know where this is going just because you've read TRC, however. I'm using the same backbone of the worlds (Hanshin, Koryo, Jade, etc.) but the things that happen within the worlds as well as the over-arching plotline will be completely different.
> 
> For the moment, Makkachin's gender is unknown, so I'm going with female to distinguish her from the rest of our main cast. If Kubo-sensei ever makes Makkachin's gender canon I'll come back and edit if I need to. 
> 
> Also, I'm taking advantage of the fact that this is a written medium. 'Yuuri' is Yuuri Katsuki, while 'Yuri' is Yuri Plisetsky. The Yurio nickname will show up, but I won't be using it in the narration. (As a side note, Yuri is aged up for this, he's in his early 20's just like Yuuri and Viktor.) 
> 
> Similarly, we have two Yuuko's. Yuuko Ichihara, the Time-Space Witch from xxxHolic and TRC, will ONLY be showing up in person in the prologue and any appearances after will be very clearly marked, so any _other_ time a Yuuko shows up it will be Yuuko Nishigori from YOI. She'll most likely always be showing up with her family though, so it should be fairly obvious which Yuuko is appearing, but I'll try and make it pretty clear. :) Everyone got it? Good! Let's go!

The dust and the smoke that his spell had kicked up began to settle, and Yuri Plisetsky, Ice Tiger of Celes, cautiously opened his eyes.

The sky was dull and overcast, but it was warmer than he'd expected. He reached up to push back his fur-lined hood and get a better look at his new surroundings, shaking his head a bit to clear himself of the last bits of vertigo. He was standing in a courtyard, neatly fitted paving stones beneath his boots but strips of grass and bushes bordering it off to either side. The architecture surrounding him, including the large house directly in front of him, was all wholly unfamiliar, but that he _had_ expected. He set the end of his staff against the ground and leaned on it, pleased with the evidence that he was where he wanted to be. 

A motion caught his eye, and he turned his head. There was a woman sitting on the porch of the house, pale bare feet dangling over the side as she smoked a pipe, her other hand absently petting the curly-furred brown dog laying beside her. Yuri eyed her speculatively, straightening up again. Even from ten meters away he could feel her power. 

"Are you the Witch of Worlds?" 

He'd been expecting a language barrier and was prepared to cast a translation spell, but it apparently wasn't necessary. She blew a smoke ring and answered him nearly immediately. 

"I've been called that, yes. You may also call me 'Yuuko'. You're here because you have a wish?" 

It wasn't really a question, but Yuri parsed it as such and nodded. His grip on his staff tightened. This was what he'd come for, what he'd left _everything_ behind for. He took a deep breath. "I wish for more magic. At home, I've been called the greatest wizard of the age, but I've already mastered every technique available. I'm _bored_ , and I refuse to laze around the king's court as an amusement for the rest of my life. I know there's more out there, I know I'm good enough to learn it, I just need to _find_ it." 

Yuuko tilted her head slightly, sending her long black hair sliding over a lily-white shoulder, but Yuri was caught in her eyes, which seemed to be staring straight into his soul. It was extremely unsettling, and he bit the inside of his cheek and broke her gaze. Instead he found himself staring at the dog, who stared back, tail wagging. 

"So," Yuuko speaking drew his attention back to her. She was smiling now, and somehow Yuri found that even _more_ unsettling. "You wish to be exposed to magic you otherwise wouldn't get to see." She took another drag off her pipe as Yuri nodded. "Very well. Earlier today, I had another visitor with a wish of his own. His memories have been shattered, scattered across the dimensions, and he will have to travel to reclaim them. But without his memories he is vulnerable, so this is what I propose, Yuri Plisetsky. You will travel with him, through many different worlds, and help him find his missing memories. In return, many of those places you visit will have new magic and skills for you to learn." 

Yuri's eyes narrowed, calculating as he thought about that. At first, he'd imagined staying with the Witch of Worlds to learn from her directly, but her suggestion was tantalizing. "What if I decide this person isn't worth my help?" 

Yuuko smirked, as though she knew something Yuri didn't. This time when she pursed her lips, she somehow blew a smoke _butterfly_ , and Yuri wondered if she was showing off for his benefit. "If that happens, I suppose you can get in contact with me and I can send you back to Celes, but your price will be forfeit." 

_Aha_. "What price?" Yuri demanded. Magic and wishes always had prices. In the world he'd grown up in, it was mostly straight energy exchange - cast a spell, you get tired - but he'd read about exotic magic that took far stranger and whimsical prices. The scant legends he'd managed to find about the Witch of Worlds seemed to suggest that to grant wishes she would demand something of 'equal value', whatever that meant. 

"To give you the means to travel between worlds and find new magic to learn, the price is..." she paused, ominously, the look in her eyes unfathomable. "Your staff." 

Yuri bit back an instinctive curse, his grip on said staff tightening. "Are you _mad_? I can't cast magic without it! What game are you playing, witch?" 

She sniffed, wholly unaffected by his outburst. "You can't cast your _old_ magic without it. Isn't the whole point to learn new skills? There's plenty of magic out there that doesn't require a staff." She smiled at him again, slyly. "The shape-shifting skills you already possess, for instance. That would remain with you, even without your staff." 

"True..." Yuri rubbed his thumb over the smooth, glossy wood of his staff. He remembered scouring the woods outside the city for just the right length of fallen wood, carving it himself and sanding it by hand. He'd had it for so long, it was so intertwined with his magic and who he was... 

But he couldn't advance farther as he was now. That was the whole point in coming to see the witch. 

He took a deep breath and looked up to meet Yuuko's eyes again. "Fine, I accept." 

"Excellent!" She held out her hand expectantly, and Yuri only hesitated a second before turning his staff over to her. She hefted the weight of it, and Yuri fought against the sudden urge to snatch it back. 

"Makkachin!" At her call, the dog lounging beside her sat up, tongue lolling happily. "Take him to see the Other Yuuri." 

Yuri blinked. "What? 'Other Yuuri'?" 

"Oh yes, did I not mention that?" Yuuko asked breezily, beaming in an entirely uninnocent way. "The boy whose memories have scattered is also named Yuuri. Yuuri Katsuki. That's going to get confusing fast, so from now on I'm going to call you Yurio." 

" _Witch_ -" Yuri hissed, feeling his blood start to boil, but the dog barking cut him off. 

"This way!" The dog called, on her feet and trotting down the hall, tail waving. Yuri stared after her, anger quenched in confusion. 

Yuuko started laughing at his expression. "You'd better go after her, she gets naggy if people don't do what she says." Yuri shot her a poisonous look, but Yuuko just grinned and flicked her fingers at him. "I mean it, go. I have another client arriving soon, Yurio." 

Yuri snarled at the reminder and stepped up onto the porch to enter the hallway that the talking dog had disappeared down. Now he was glad he hadn't pushed to stay and learn from the witch, he would have blasted her into a smirking crater within the first day. Whoever this Yuuri Katsuki was, he couldn't be half as bad as Yuuko. 

Behind him, Yuuko chuckled and took another draw from her pipe, lounging back to wait on the third member of the little trio. 

~*~

It started when Viktor found the stone. 

He'd been out walking in one of the gardens, following one of the ornamental streams that wound between the holly hedges. The bottom of the stream was all clean white sand and carefully cultivated pea-sized pebbles, perfectly smooth and shiny in the sun. He'd been about to hop over a narrow place in the stream to circle back toward the kitchens when something different had caught his eye. Curious, he'd crouched and rolled up his sleeve to fish out whatever piece of refuse was sullying the gardeners' perfect stream. 

But it wasn't trash at all. It turned out to be a shard of crystal, about the length of Viktor's hand, somehow jagged without being sharp enough to actually cut him. He would have thought it was a shard of ice, except that it was warm in his hand, almost seeming to pulse with a faint internal light. That bit was silly, of course, it was just reflected sunlight making the crystal seem to glow. But it was a lovely, unexpected find all the same, and Viktor pocketed it. 

It turned into a sort of good luck charm for him. He started carrying it with him everywhere; to the endless classes on court manners and politics, dancing and fencing and painting. If he had to recite the List of the Kings one more time Viktor thought he was going to go mad from boredom. It was during those moments he would slip his hand into his pocket and squeeze the crystal, take a little heart from the familiar edges biting into his palm. 

"Viktor!" his tutor called him sharply back to attention, and Viktor startled, tried to give a disarmingly sheepish smile. "Viktor, you are a _prince_ , these things are important for you to know!" 

"I'm the _third son_ , no one will ever have use for me," Viktor sighed, then lowered his head and shut his mouth when all his tutor did was glare. 

That night he dreamed about magic, magic like he only heard about in tales. And he dreamed about a boy, one with hair as dark as the night sky and eyes like the sweetest chocolate, a smile even sweeter. 

When he woke, one hand was on his crystal and Viktor knew what he had to do. 

It took him months of searching, combing through the palace library in his spare hours. There hadn't been any strong sorcerers in decades, and so all the books on magic had shuffled toward the dustiest back corners and had no organization to speak of. Even when he found it, he almost passed it by, because the book was thick, the leather spine crumbling, and the pages were closely written in a tight, hand-written scrawl. But something stopped him from putting the book back, made him peer closer at the looping writing on the title page. 

'Notes on spells used to travel between worlds - Otabek Altin' 

Viktor grinned. If he could manage to decypher the hundred year old vocabulary and find a source of power, this was what he'd been looking for. 

All told, almost two years had passed between when he originally found the crystal, and when he held it in front of him to help pull him to the Witch of Worlds that Altin had written about. The spell was miraculously simple, once Viktor worked his way past Altin's ridiculously detailed dissecting of it. He needed an outside source of magic since he didn't have any of his own, but Viktor had come to believe that's what the crystal was. With that, all he had to do was concentrate his will on it, pour all his desire into it, and if he truly had one wish with all his heart then the Witch of Worlds would answer him. 

He was so busy concentrating, he didn't notice the way his whole body had begun to glow, or the wind that was stirring around him. He didn't even notice when all of reality rotated around the crystal in his hands, his bedroom fading and melting to be replaced by an overcast courtyard. It was only when the woman sitting before him cleared his throat that Viktor startled, and then startled again when he noticed where he was. 

"...It worked." He began to grin, clutching his crystal to his chest. He laughed, giddy, turned in a circle to take in the brand new world he found himself in. It was _warm_ here, like midsummer back home. He was going to start sweating in his fur robes soon and Viktor welcomed the change. He completed a full circle, facing the woman again and still grinning. "Are you the Witch of Worlds?" 

She arched one delicate eyebrow, looking amused. "For one of my rarer titles, I'm hearing it a lot today. You may call me Yuuko if you like." 

"Yuuko," Viktor tried out the unfamiliar cadence. "That's a pretty name. I'm Viktor Nikiforov, third son of Aleksandr Nikiforov, King of Celes." 

Yuuko looked amused, lounging back where she was sitting and crossing her long legs one over the other. "Oh yes, I know who you are. You came because you have a wish, correct?" 

"Correct!" Viktor beamed at her. "I want an adventure. I don't want to be the spare son with endless, boring lessons anymore." 

Yuuko hummed, her eyes a little hooded. "I don't think that's your real wish." 

"I..." Viktor paused, rubbing his fingers along the familiar angles of his crystal. "...You're right. I keep dreaming about a boy in trouble. I want to know if he's real, and if he is, I want to help him." 

The witch looked pleased. "Every wish has a price." 

Viktor nodded. He didn't know _much_ about magic, but even Altin's textbook-like narration had taught him that. "I know." 

"Very well." Yuuko hummed, smoking thoughtfully for a moment. "The price for what you seek is the crystal you're holding in your hands." 

"Done," Viktor held it out to her without hesitation, and she looked surprised for a moment before she smiled softly. 

"Keep ahold of it for now, you'll know what to do with it in a moment. The man of your dreams is real." She ignored the delighted sound Viktor made in the back of his throat, continuing on. "His name is Yuuri Katsuki, and he's lost his memories. They've been scattered across a variety of different worlds, and I'll be sending him to gather them again. If you want to help him, you can go with him." 

"I will," Viktor nodded, determined. His heart was beating fast, excitement racing through him in a way he hadn't felt in so long. He would get to meet the boy he'd been dreaming of, _and_ have an adventure _and_ never have to recite the List of Kings again. He couldn't help the wide grin that split his face. "I _will_. Where is he?" 

Yuuko watched him for a moment, looking thoughtful, and then heaved herself to her feet. "Very well, Viktor Nikiforov, this way." 

He followed her down a hallway, pausing as she slid aside a panel door that had been built into the wall. The room inside was rather plain, but it was the occupants that drew Viktor's attention immediately. Standing by the window was a man in Celesian-styled clothes, tall and pale with blond hair that fell in sharply green eyes, pinning Viktor under an assessing stare. But even that didn't distract Viktor for long from the man laying asleep on a pallet on the floor. He looked so peaceful, so beautiful it made Viktor's breath catch. He only distantly noticed the dog laying across the foot of Yuuri's pallet. 

Suddenly, he noticed the crystal in his hand was growing very warm. Looking down in surprise, he noticed it had begun to glow with a bright, blue-tinted light. The dog sat up, her eyes sparkling. 

"Awooo," she said, actually _said_ , like a person imitating a dog's howl. "That's one of Yuuri's memories!" 

"Oh," Viktor said, surprised he hadn't realized it sooner. He went to his knees beside Yuuri, and the glowing crystal floated out of his hands toward Yuuri's chest. It flashed brightly, and when Viktor opened his eyes from where he'd instinctively closed them, the crystal was gone. But it seemed like there was a little colour back in Yuuri's cheeks, and maybe it was Viktor's imagination, but he seemed to be breathing a little easier too. 

"Payment received," Yuuko said from behind him, sounding satisfied. Viktor twisted around to see her smiling. "Now, Makkachin will take you to another world that has at least one of Yuuri's crystallized memories. She'll be able to land you somewhere close, but it's still up to you to find the crystals themselves and return them to Yuuri. If you _really_ need help Makkachin can also get in touch with me, but that will cost you." 

"Will he be sleeping all the time?" the blond demanded, and then muttered something that sounded like "Pain in the ass." 

"No, Yurio," Yuuko said, and Yuri snarled. "Right now he's basically an empty shell, but once he regains a few memories he'll wake. The more you return to him, the more like his old self he'll be." 

"Great," Yuri muttered sarcastically, crossing his arms, but Viktor beamed, turning his attention to the blond. 

"You'll be helping Yuuri too? That's great! I'm Viktor. She said your name is Yurio, right?" He offered his hand, but Yuri ignored it, busy glaring at the witch. 

"My name is _Yuri_ ," he emphasized, and Viktor frowned. 

"That'll get confusing fast..." 

Yuri threw up his hands in frustration, but didn't get time to yell as Makkachin suddenly bounced to her feet and ran in a circle. 

"Oh~ I feel one of the crystals! Everyone get close, it's time to go!" 

Startled out of his anger, Yuri did as instructed and stepped closer to where Yuuri was laying and Viktor was still kneeling. Makkachin ran in a circle around all three of them, almost too fast to really see, and where her paws struck the floor began to glow. She closed the circuit, and with a flash there was only Yuuko standing in the doorway of an empty room. 

She regarded it thoughtfully, a quiet smile playing on her lips. "Somewhere, Fai just landed a triple axel."


	2. Hanshin Tiger-Print

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanshin, kudan, and a really catchy song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay, life's been a bit.....

Traveling via whatever arcane power Makkachin used rather than under the power of his own magic was more disorienting than Yuri was expecting. It felt like he was being flipped continually upsidedown and spun in circles, and all he could do was squeeze his eyes shut and hope it didn't last very long. He didn't notice for awhile when it finally came to a stop, drifting in quiet darkness. It was a relief to rest for a little while, not really thinking of anything at all.

After some time, he began to hear music. Quietly at first, drifting to him as though from a long way away. But then it started to grow. It was catchy, sounded almost... familiar. 

_"...This is who I am, just remember me!"_

"Stop..." Yuri groaned, and then when the music did not obey he sat bolt upright in bed, every hair standing on end. "Why the hell is that racket playing?!" 

Across the room from the bed where Yuri and, on closer inspection, Yuuri were both resting, Viktor and another man were sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a flat screen that was showing a moving picture of Yuri's personal nemesis. Yuri noticed that his hair was cut differently, and rather than the fur cloaks and jewels Yuri was used to seeing him in, he was wearing something much lighter weight and brighter coloured, with elaborate layering and shiny bits. But he'd know that smug, punchable smile anywhere, and there was no mistaking that _song_. 

"I'm the KING, JJ, no one defeats me! This is who I am, just come and follow me!" 

Yuri snarled, hands twitching with the urge to clap his hands over his ears. But a quick glance around the room confirmed that they hadn't fallen back into Celes, all the decor was of unfamiliar styles. "What the hell is he doing here?" 

"Ah?" The man sitting with Viktor blinked, and then offered Yuri a sheepish smile. "Um. Actually, you landed in my bedroom? I'm Phichit, it's nice to meet you." 

"Not you, _him_ ," Yuri gestured at the man smiling and waving on the screen, his theme music still playing obnoxiously in the background. "I thought I was the only one from my world capable of traveling between dimensions." 

"You know him?" Phichit's eyes widened, but for some reason he looked delighted. "That's amazing! Do you think you could get me an autograph?" 

"It happens sometimes," Makkachin piped up from where she was laying on the bed beside the still-sleeping Yuuri. When everyone's attention turned toward her, she wagged her tail. "You might meet people with the faces and souls of people you've met before. Their experiences and memories are all different, though." 

"So that's not the Jean-Jacques I know, then," Yuri eyed the television mistrustfully. "I bet he's still an asshole." 

On cue, the JJ on the screen winked and struck a pose. "It's JJ style!" 

Yuri threw a pillow at the television as hard as he could, and Phichit quickly reached over and turned it off before his guest could have an aneurysm or find something harder than a pillow to throw. "He's a famous singer, he's giving a live concert downtown later today so all the local channels are covering it and playing his music videos. Viktor was asking what this world is like, so I turned it on to show him while we waited for you to wake up." 

"Ugh," Yuri sat back against the headboard and crossed his arms, then paused, watching Phichit more closely. "You seem pretty calm for someone who had strangely dressed people dropped into his bedroom." He couldn't cast any spells without his staff, but he still had magic in him, and he reached out with it to try and get a feel for Phichit. As far as he could tell, the man was perfectly normal, but there was a strange shine of magic around him all the same. Yuri's eyes narrowed, pushing a little harder to try and get a sense for what that strange aura was. It stirred a little in reaction, and Phichit looked surprised. 

"Oh! Please don't poke her too hard, she's very small." He held out his hands cupped in front of him, and the aura of magic that had been hovering around his head and shoulders suddenly condensed down, taking a physical form in Phichit's arms. 'She' turned out to be a _hamster_ of all things, though she was far larger than any hamster Yuri had ever seen, about the size of a large rabbit or housecat. She tilted her head at the visitors, then wiggled to be let down into Phichit's lap and began to wash her face. 

"Why do you have a familiar if you're not a sorcerer?" Yuri narrowed his eyes, tense. If there was something Phichit was hiding from them, things could get messy. Viktor was looking back and forth between them, but didn't seem concerned, so there was no help there. 

"Ah, she's not..." Phichit held up his hands sheepishly. "Calm down, there's so much to explain. She's not my familiar, she's my _kudan_." 

"I've never heard of that before," Viktor chimed in, looking intrigued. He reached out toward the over-grown hamster in Phichit's lap, and when neither Phichit nor the hamster protested he patted her gently. She made an odd cooing sound and leaned into his hand. Viktor looked delighted, and Phichit laughed, fumbling for something in his pockets. Yuri was not impressed. 

"As far as I know, _kudan_ are only found in this world, which is called Hanshin," Phichit glanced up, then went back to flicking his fingers against the little device he'd pulled out. "Viktor, lean in, I want to take a picture!" 

"Okay!" Viktor did as asked, smiling brightly. "What is that?" 

"This?" Phichit held up the device. He blinked, looking back and forth between Viktor and Yuri. "This is my phone, but I can use it to take pictures and do all sorts of things..." He trailed off when he saw that neither of them had any idea what he was talking about. "...Oh dear." 

No one got a chance to ask any more questions, as a loud knocking sound came from somewhere beyond the room, followed by what sounded like a door swinging open. Phichit looked at his phone again, then leaned back toward the door. "In the bedroom, Mina!" 

A moment later the door was flung open dramatically, almost smashing into the wall behind it. A woman stood proudly in the doorway, her long brown hair done up into an artfully messy bun, and wearing _trousers_ along with a cleanly cut shirt and flat shoes. The style was similar to the clothes Phichit was wearing, and overall much... simpler and flatter than Yuri was used to. In Celes, ornamentation and decoration were standard, and fur-trim was almost a necessity. Here, not only did the climate seem to be warmer, but the fashion was clearly much different. Yuri filed that away with the other puzzle pieces he was gathering, wondering when someone would get around to giving him a clear picture. 

"I'm Minako," she introduced herself before anyone could quite react to her entrance. She had a very self-assured smile, and it instantly set Yuri's nerves on edge. "Yuuko asked if I wouldn't mind baby sitting you for awhile." 

"Then why did they land at my house?" Phichit wondered out loud. No one bothered to answer him. 

"Yuuko. The Witch of Worlds." Yuri eyed her dubiously. She had the same magical feel that Phichit did - no magic in herself, but that aura of a 'kudan' around her. Yuri was beginning to gather that was something like a guardian spirit. "Asked you?" 

"We're drinking buddies," Minako waved a hand, like it didn't really matter. "I got them clothes like you asked, Phichit. Is he going to wake up soon?" 

It took Yuri a moment to realize she was talking about the other Yuuri, who was still asleep despite how loud they'd gotten. 

"Not yet," Makkachin answered before Viktor or Yuri could, setting one paw on Yuuri's hip protectively. "We need to find more of his memory crystals first." 

"Right!" Minako snapped her fingers. "Yuuko told me about that. Well, no better way than to go out and look for them! Phichit, you should give them a tour of the city! After you change, you'll stick out like sore thumbs otherwise." 

Yuri glanced down at his clothes; the elaborate blue embroidery over white and black, the finely tooled clasps that held his jacket closed, the thinsulate gloves. He was already feeling a bit over-heated, and it looked like Viktor was in no better shape. "I suppose you're right." 

"Great!" Everything Minako said seemed to have an exclamation point in it. She spun on her toes and flounced back out into the hall, but only for a moment before she returned with several shopping bags. "I had to eyeball the sizes while you were passed out, but I think I got close enough. These are for the shorty-" She tossed a bag into Yuri's lap before he could protest. "And these for Mister Hot Stuff." She offered Viktor his bag with considerably more flourish, and Viktor looked pleased with the attention as he took it. 

Phichit leaned over and smacked Minako lightly on the back of the calf. "Shouldn't you be at the restaurant by now?" 

Minako grinned, unrepentant and eyes on Viktor. "Probably. Stop by on your way home, I'll whip you all up something good." She winked, then spun again and left without further word, whistling cheerfully. 

"...Minako," Phichit gestured after her helplessly, looking apologetic. "My business partner. Well, one of them." He patted his hamster on the head, and with a soft 'chu' she faded into whisps of smoke and Phichit stood. "Go ahead and get changed, I'll wait for you out in the main room." He left, closing the door behind him and leaving the three (four?) travelers alone together for the first time. 

"...Well," Viktor spoke into the silence, offering Yuri a smile. "If we're going to be traveling together we should introduce ourselves. I'm Viktor-" 

"Shut up, I don't care," Yuri scowled, digging through the bag Minako had brought him. The tight pants were fine, nothing he wasn't used to, but what the hell was with this shirt? It would leave his arms practically bare and while the colour was flattering it was so _plain_. "I want to get a better feel for what those _kudan_ things are, so let's get changed." 

"Alright..." Viktor looked slightly taken aback, but recovered quickly and retrieved his own shopping bag. Yuri discovered that the second door in the room led to a small washroom, and shut himself inside to change. By the time he peeked out again, Viktor had already changed, his Celesian clothes folded neatly on the dresser and the man himself standing beside the bed, watching Yuuri sleep and scratching Makkachin behind the ears. 

"That's not creepy at all," Yuri muttered, slipping out to set his old clothes beside Viktor's. Viktor started a bit, quickly turning away from Yuuri. 

"Don't worry," Makkachin said, leaning over enough to lick Viktor's hand in reassurance. "I'll stay here and watch over him." 

"Thank you," Viktor smiled and patted Makkachin again, then looked over at Yuri. "Ready?" 

"Very," Yuri brushed past Viktor to open the bedroom door. It led to a larger area that combined kitchen and living space, several large windows revealing that they were several stories up. Curious, Yuri stepped over to peer out one of them. The city spread out before him was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. The buildings were mostly square and uniform, laid out very mathematically around gridded streets, made of what seemed to be metal and a baffling amount of glass. There were brightly painted signs everywhere, apparently advertising a multitude of products that could be bought here. The sky overhead was wide open and almost blindingly blue, only a few whispy white clouds drifting along to obscure the bright sunshine. 

"Is this like where you come from?" Phichit asked, stepping up beside Yuri to look out the window too. 

"Not at all," Yuri murmured, feeling a little awed at the evidence that this was truly another world. The Witch had done what she'd said. "The buildings in Celes are never so tall, and never so square, and never with such large windows. The storms we get are too severe, even with magical protection they'd get torn apart." He paused, squinting at one of the signs. "What is that supposed to be?" 

Phichit brightened again when Yuri pointed out what he meant. "That's the Hanshin Tiger. Legends say that long ago they bonded with humans to become the first _kudan_ and encouraged other animals to do the same. Today, it's the mascot of our famous baseball team, and it's become a symbol for the whole area." 

"Tiger. Why is it _orange_?" 

"...Because tigers are orange?" Phichit gave him an odd look, baffled, and Yuri sighed. 

"Nevermind. Let's go." 

As soon as they stepped outside, Yuri was glad that he'd changed clothes. It was much hotter than he was expecting, especially with the sun shining down on all the paved roads. He held a hand up to shade his eyes, squinting in the light, and beside him Viktor did the same with an exclamation of delight. "It's so bright!" 

Phichit grinned, proud to be showing the visitors around his city. "So do you have any idea where those crystals you're looking for might be?" 

"No, none." Viktor dropped his hand, still looking around in wonder. 

"Let's start at the market, then." Phichit was pretty sure that Yuri's nose was sunburning as he watched, and had a suspicion that wouldn't sweeten the mage's temper any. "Mina neglected to get you sunglasses. or hats." 

"Sunglasses?" Viktor tilted his head curiously, and Phichit just grinned and pulled his out of his pocket to slip on. "Oh! Those do look useful." 

"We don't have any money," Yuri pointed out, but Phichit shook his head. 

"Don't worry about it. We can work something out, but it's really no big deal. Come on, this way." He led the way through the streets, slow enough that Yuri and Viktor could keep up even when they kept getting distracted by new sights (especially Viktor). By the time Phichit pulled open the door to the indoor market and gestured his guests in with a flourish, both of them were looking pink across the nose and ears. Hats were definitely needed. He led the way down the wide aisle between the various shops, chatting with Viktor about the wide variety of sunglasses available. It took them both a few dozen steps to notice that Yuri wasn't behind them. 

"Yurio?" Viktor called, and they turned back to see Yuri loitering outside a clothing store, staring at something on one of the displays. He jerked slightly at Viktor's call and started to catch up with them, but by then Phichit and Viktor had already back-tracked, curious about what had caught Yuri's eye. 

The display turned out to showcase a wide variety of items emblazoned with the Hanshin Tiger, including a few that didn't have the Tiger itself but were tiger-print cloth. Phichit smiled, watching Yuri out of the corner of his eye. He was definitely blushing, trying to pretend he hadn't really been that interested in the display. "You guys are going to need more than one set of clothes, especially if we can't find that crystal right away." 

Yuri shot him a look that was both surprised and suspicious, but Phichit was already digging out his wallet. Viktor had already disappeared further into the shop, and they could hear him exclaiming about a display of sunglasses. Phichit gave Yuri a kind look, and Yuri, now blushing more furiously, snatched an item off the table and stormed further into the store to get Viktor to stop yelling. Grinning, Phichit followed him in. 

Yuri and Viktor both ended up with sunglasses, and Viktor found a floppy-brimmed hat that he fell in love with, and Phichit didn't have the heart to tell him the style was more suited to old men. What Yuri had grabbed from the front display turned out to be a three-quarter-sleeved shirt, white with black tiger stripes. Phichit insisted they both pick out a couple more shirts each, then took the entire haul up to the counter to pay. The girl minding the shop seemed quite taken with Viktor, and by the time they stopped flirting, Yuri had disappeared into some far corner of the shop and reappeared wearing his new shirt. Viktor found that hilarious, but Phichit thought it far wiser not to comment. He thanked the shop girl, and herded them both outside with their armloads of bags. 

"Productive," he chirped, grinning as he led the way back outside, Viktor and Yuri both putting on their sunglasses with sighs of relief. "Just not quite useful. Maybe we should have checked out some of the curio shops for your crystal..." 

Viktor's stomach gave a massive growl right then, and all three of them paused. Viktor coughed in embarrassment, but Phichit laughed. "Later, I guess. Let's go grab lunch, I know just the place." 

They weren't too far away from the restaurant he co-owned. He led the way inside, breathing in the familiar smells of curry and spice, and nearly ran straight into his and Mina's third business partner, Mari Katsuki. The look she gave him was unimpressed as always, her hair pulled back under a bandanna and balancing a tray of glasses easily on one hand. "There you are." 

"Hi Mari," Phichit plastered on a grin. Even knowing her for almost five years, she still intimidated him. The woman could do things with ledger books he couldn't even dream of. "How's business?" 

"Fine, considering our head chef has the day off." She gave Yuri and Viktor a cool look as they came in behind him. "Minako said you have guests." 

"I need days off too!" Phichit protested a bit feebly. "...I'll go back to the kitchen and make sure everything's under control. And yeah, this is Yuri, and Viktor. Guys, this is Mari." 

Mari was hard to read even on the best of days, and she gave Yuri a look that Phichit couldn't even begin to interpret. Yuri couldn't either, and he bristled. "What are you looking at?" 

"Hm." Mari just shook her head. "This way, have a seat and I'll get you some drinks." 

Phichit breathed a sigh of relief as they all got seated and stowed their bags under the table. "Welcome to The Golden Trio." 

"Why's it called that?" Viktor asked, and Phichit smiled. 

"You already saw my _kudan_. Mari's is a bird, and Mina's is a cat, and all three of them are gold or yellow." He shrugged. "We couldn't think of anything better, and the name stuck." 

"Do you think they'd let me take a look at them?" Yuri asked, eager to learn more about these strange spirits. 

"Maybe not Mari, but I'm sure Mina would. Once we go back outside you'll probably see plenty of them hanging around too, some people's _kudan_ stay with them in tangible form a lot of the time." 

"Everyone has one?" Yuri hadn't realized the things were quite _that_ common, and his surprise showed. 

Phichit nodded. "Everyone in Hanshin, as far as I know." 

For the first time, Yuri stopped to take a good look at Viktor, reaching out with his magical senses. When they'd first met back in Yuuko's house, Viktor had seemed as unmagical as a rock, but now Yuri saw the unmistakable shine of a _kudan_ wrapped around his shoulders. Viktor saw him staring and sat up a little straighter. 

"What? Do I have something on my face?" 

"No," Yuri frowned harder. "When did you get a _kudan_?" 

"As soon as we arrived, I think," Viktor grinned, not noticing how startled Yuri suddenly looked. "When Makkachin was leading us down that long tunnel of light, I saw a bird and somehow I knew she was waiting for me. She asked if I wouldn't mind if she helped me for awhile, and of course I said yes." 

"I didn't experience anything like that," Yuri frowned, absently stirring the ice in his glass with his straw. "And I don't have a _kudan_ right now, at least not as far as I can tell." 

"Why would you?" Mari paused beside their table with a pitcher in hand to refill their drinks, giving Yuri an unreadable look. "You already have the spirit of an animal inside you." 

Yuri jerked his head up, nearly spilling the drink she'd just poured. "How did you-" She was already turning to walk away, and Yuri half stood up to call her back. " _Wait a minute-_ " 

Viktor laughed. "They do call you the Ice Tiger of Celes, Yurio." 

Yuri frowned sharply at him, and for once not because of the nickname. "I don't remember telling you that-" 

"Yurio, look!" Viktor cut him off, and Yuri considered smacking him until he realized that Viktor was staring beyond him with wide eyes, looking at something over Yuri's head. Annoyed at the sudden change in direction _again_ , Yuri twisted around to see what had distracted Viktor this time. 

It was another television, mounted in one corner of the restaurant ceiling. Yuri could see another one farther on that was playing some sort of sporting event. But the one Viktor was staring at had live footage of Jean-Jacques Leroy, smiling as he met some of his fans before his concert. He looked like he was already dressed to go on stage; tight black pants and a loose, rich blue shirt decorated with blue and green sequins to catch the light and left open down the front to show a truly unnecessary amount of his bare chest. 

"You have got to be _kidding_ me," Yuri groaned, thunking his head down onto the table. 

Hanging like a pendant around JJ's neck was one of Yuuri's crystals.

**Author's Note:**

> ....I've been swearing for months I wasn't going to give in and write YOI fic. Help.


End file.
